Low April Sun: A Novel

by Constance E. Squires

On the morning of April 19, 1995, Delaney Travis steps into the Social Security office in Oklahoma City to obtain an ID for her new job. Moments later, an explosion shatters the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building into rubble. Her boyfriend Keith and half-sister Edie are left to assume the worst—that Delaney perished in the bombing, despite definitive proof. Twenty years later, now married and bonded by the tragedy, Edie and Keith’s lives are upended when they begin to receive mysterious Facebook messages from someone claiming to be Delaney.

Desperate for closure, the couple embarks on separate journeys, each aiming for an artists’ community in New Mexico that may hold answers. Alongside their quest is August, a recovering alcoholic with a haunting connection to the bombing. Raised in the separatist compound of Elohim City, August harbors secrets about Timothy McVeigh, the perpetrator of the attack, and his own possible involvement in the tragedy. When his path crosses with Edie, he must choose whether to tell anyone about his past.

As the 20-year anniversary of the bombing approaches, fracking-induced earthquakes shake the ground of Oklahoma City, mirroring the unsettled lives of its residents. In their quest for answers, Edie, Keith, and August seek to understand how the shadows of the past continue to darken the present, as the ground beneath them threatens to give way once again.

In Low April Sun, acclaimed author Contance Squires has written the first novel to explore the enduring impact of the Oklahoma City bombing. While masterfully weaving a spellbinding mystery, Squires ultimately offers us a moving meditation on grief and forgiveness.
 

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

262 pages, Hardcover

Published February 11, 2025

Reviews

[Michael Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the morning of April 19, 1995, Delaney Travis went to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City to replace her social security card. Shortly after her arrival, a forty-eight-hundred-pound bomb exploded, resulting in 167 deaths and 684 injuries. This act of terrorism was the deadliest on American soil at that time.

Delaney’s boyfriend Keith and her half-sister Edie were devastated. There was no word, no body recovered. The truck she drove was demolished in the rubble and the coat she wore confirms her presence. She just had ceased,

The twenty-year anniversary of the tragedy is here. Edie and Keith have married and are still dealing with their grief and lack of closure. Amidst personal and professional pressures, Edie unexpectedly receives a “friend request” on Facebook– from someone posing as Delaney. What sort of hoax is this? What possible motive could anyone have? Could she possibly be alive? And if so, how could she have waited all this time without contacting them?

Always insecure about Keith’s feelings for her half-sister, Edie is mortified when she discovers he has also received the request and has hidden the fact from her. To survive as a couple and solve the mystery that has haunted them for two decades, they must confront this and other issues in their relationship.

Just as you see the story winding down, a surprising twist is revealed. While it reshapes the narrative, it felt somewhat abrupt and could have been foreshadowed more effectively. Still, it did add a nice dimension to the story.

"Low April Sun" uses the Oklahoma City bombing as a backdrop but does not exploit the tragedy. The novel explores themes of addiction, white supremacy, and the controversial issue of fracking and its potential link to earthquakes. Convicted bomber Timothy McVeigh appears as a minor character.

Constance E. Squires has written a charged mystery that reminds us of the devastation caused by this heinous crime. The author highlights the suffering of both the victims and the survivors. This is a well-rounded, extremely satisfying read.

Thank you to the University of Oklahoma Press and Edelweiss for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a tough read for me, so much so that I started and stopped it a few times before finishing. As a daughter of a survivor of the OKC bombing, it felt odd to read a fictionalized telling of the day's events. In truth though, this book confronts the "John Doe 2" theory about potential co-conspirators outside of McVeigh and Nichols. The story was thought-provoking and did a great job of weaving two timelines together. Other Oklahoma "issues" were brought to the surface of the story through key story elements of fracking and gambling. All in all, this was a tough read, but it was an enjoyable read as well.

[Melissa Estes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing

Being from Oklahoma, I really wanted to like this book. While the idea sounded like a great story, the execution fell flat. I found myself having to push to read it and finish it.

[Christy Hallberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Low April Sun' is the third novel I’ve read by Constance Squires, and I think it’s her masterpiece. I previously interviewed her for my podcast, Rock is Lit, about her first two fantastic novels, 'Along the Watchtower' and 'Live From Medicine Park', and I’ve long admired her talent. In 'Low April Sun', she crafts a gripping tale of addiction, redemption, and the pursuit of truth against the backdrop of the Oklahoma City bombing. Edie, a recovering alcoholic trapped in the PR machine of a corrupt energy company, and Keith, her gambling-addicted husband, find their lives upended when they receive a Facebook friend request from Edie’s half-sister, Delaney—a woman long presumed dead in the 1995 bombing. As their search for answers pulls them into a web of conspiracy, fracking-induced earthquakes, and a decades-old mystery, they must confront the repercussions of tragedy and loss.

While 'Low April Sun' is the first novel to explore the Oklahoma City bombing, it is so much more than a political novel. It’s a deeply human story with heart and depth, one that speaks to addiction, the need for grace and forgiveness, and the lingering impact of an unspeakable tragedy. With masterful psychological suspense and profound emotional resonance, Squires asks whether the past ever truly lets us go.

[Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Understanding the past, so one can move into the future.

Life is always more complicated than we mere mortals want to admit. Humans are a mess of contradictions, stories, lies and half-truths. I liked how the author wove all these into this story.

Being that I was alive during the time of the Oklahoma City Bombing, this book grabbed my attention. I wanted to see how the characters handled the situation and the aftermath. I liked that the author kept the stories of the various characters complicated and the mystery threaded through the story was good, too. It showed that life, as I said above, is complicated. There were times, though, where the story was a bit slow and it took some effort to get through it. Maybe I wasn’t in the right mood for this book and wasn’t ready for something this heavy. Other readers may absolutely love it, so don’t be deterred. There is intrigue to the story that will ensnare many readers.

If you want a different take on the events of the Oklahoma City Bombing, the aftermath and the people who lived through it, then this might be the book for you. Give it a try.

[Kurt Baumeister · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOW APRIL SUN is a smart, searing take on 1995's Oklahoma City bombing and the events that followed. Thrilling and poingnant in equal turns, LOW APRIL SUN offers us a new way of looking at history and its aftermath.

[Benjamin Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a moving and beautifully crafted-novel. Intertwining several compelling narrative threads, Squires explores the concept of aftermath to illustrate the messy and meaningful nature of real human relationships and of each individual's place within a complex whole.

[Kassi | sassykassispages]

DNFed at 5%. Hard to keep up, disjointed and I cannot follow with all the different people mentioned.

[Roxanne Cordonier · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some compelling characters and a recent documentary about the Oklahoma City bombing made this a topical read.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderfully written story of a topic that is still very fresh in my mind. I highly recommend.

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

heartbreaking and very interesting

[Shellie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am also from Oklahoma and really wanted to like this book, however, I felt that the story of Delaney was not believable. There was alot of skipping around of the story being told by several different people in two different time periods. It was disjointed.

I also don't enjoy reading books with alot of profanity in them like this one. It didn't add anything to the story line.